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Choline Research and Food Sources

Certain foods tend to get a bad rap across the board. These so called “dietary offenders” generally fall into two camps: foods that are rich in cholesterol and saturated fat, and desserts, drinks or snacks that are abundant in simple carbohydrates. I can’t think of a good argument for sugar laden treats, but I do believe that many foods containing cholesterol and saturated fat are, in fact, healthy. This point of view is often shared by nutritionists and physicians who have adopted a low-carbohydrate philosophy. However, the vast majority of conventional doctors and nutrition advisors disagree. One of the reasons why I personally think that foods such as beef, eggs and pork can be healthful additions to the average diet is because they’re loaded with an essential nutrient known as choline.

The January 2010 edition of the FASEB Journal provides the latest evidence that choline, a member of the B-vitamin family, is vital in promoting the formation of the memory center of the brain (the hippocampus). Scientists from the University of North Carolina fed two groups of pregnant mice a choline enriched diet or a choline deficient diet during the time frame when fetal hippocampi growth is known to occur. The diet with added choline affected specific genes that support the creation and subsequent growth of neuronal cells in the hippocampus. The benefits that occur during the developmental stages of life may even extend into adulthood. A recent experiment presented in the journal Brain Research determined that rats provided with choline during their growth stage exhibited positive “changes in exploratory behaviors over the lifespan” and that choline “preserves some features of hippocampal plasticity that can be seen at 2 years of age”. 2 years in the life of a rat is the equivalent of approximately 60 years for a human being. (1,2,3,4)

There are other reasons why pregnant women should keep an eye on the choline content of their diets. A September 2009 study conducted at Stanford University discovered that low choline levels were associated with a greater risk for neural tube defects (NTD). On the opposite end of the spectrum, a higher intake of choline was found to have a preventive effects against NTDs. A greater intake of dietary or supplemental choline may also help protect against certain manifestations of alcohol induced birth trauma, such as behavioral problems, “delays in eye opening”, low birth and brain weight and tooth formation. It’s important to note that choline doesn’t lessen the alcohol content in the system, but instead appears to offset some of the damage caused by alcohol consumption – in an animal model. Clearly this isn’t a prescription to drink while pregnant. But this may be a valuable preventive tool in cases where drinking is likely to occur. (5,6)

Choline may also play an important role in a disease that profoundly affects the female population – breast cancer. A November 2009 investigation from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine examined the link between choline intake and breast cancer risk and mortality. 1,508 women with breast cancer were analyzed in this trial. Several determinations were made based on the careful examination of this group known as the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project.

The authors of the research conclude their research in rather direct terms: “Our study supports the important roles of choline and betaine in breast carcinogenesis. It suggests that high intake of these nutrients may be a promising strategy to prevent the development of breast cancer and to reduce its mortality”. This promising note is strengthened by other recent trials that suggest that choline and other methyl-donors (folic acid, Vitamin B12, etc.) may stimulate a process known as apoptosis and, thereby, induce breast cancer cell death. (7,8,9)

Choline and Folic Acid Share Common Pathways Involved in Brain Development

Anxiety is a condition that almost everyone can relate to. Sometimes it’s a transient state. But judging by the number of anxiolytic medications currently on the market, it appears that anxiety is a rather chronic and significant issue for a large segment of the population. If you’re one of the many who struggle with recurrent anxiety, you may want to consider getting more choline in your diet or via supplementation. A study appearing in the October 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition evaluated blood levels of choline and anxiety or depression symptoms in a group of 5,918 men and women. Those with the lowest choline status showed a dramatic association with higher anxiety scores. Prior research indicates that brain levels of choline, as measured by magnetic resonance imaging, tend to be lower in patients with generalized anxiety disorder as well. (10,11)

Perhaps the biggest issue relating to choline and the modern diet is that it’s often deficient. Multivitamins and prenatal supplements rarely provide even close to the RDA (recommend daily allowance) of 425 milligrams for women and 550 milligrams for men. What’s worse, many of the foods that contain the greatest amounts of choline (beef, eggs, liver, pork, etc.) are often discouraged from being eaten on a regular basis. The first step towards improving the current state of things is to become aware of which foods provide appreciable levels of this essential B-vitamin. If you think you’re unlikely to get enough of this nutrient in your typical menu plan, think about adding a choline supplement to your daily routine. In the future, we may learn that choline is as vital to good health as folic acid or other better known vitamins. Until the official word comes out, it’s up to us all to discuss this issue with our health care team, personally evaluate the evidence and implement as we see fit. (12)

Note: Please check out the “Comments & Updates” section of this blog – at the bottom of the page. You can find the latest research about this topic there!

11 Comments & Updates to “Choline Research and Food Sources”

its always a pleasure in the morning – with my loved cup of green tea – to read your blog. i know how much work writing articles can be. thank you so much for all here!

its really interessting that the big pharma organizations and related lobbyists want make us belive that eggs, butter and tasty foods like calf’s liver are unhealthy because of high cholesterol gout and so on! thank good that i and my family always had our own opinion on nutrition: i eat butter since im born – can’t live without. i eat calf’s liver regularly and eggs are wonderfull. nobody in my family is really overweight – im slim and healthy so i think it wasn’t a error to eat al those “bad” and “forbidden” food. in my childhood my clasmates always told me that i eat so unhealthy because of the thick layer of butter on my snack .

however i think for some people those foods can be dangerous. they are all very dense in calories and nutrients, so if overeaten…. maybe dangerous or a false combination with to much refined carbs.

i love those posts which affirm that a normal natural way of eating is healthy and incredible tasty.

I think we’re in one of the very few places in the United States that is actually warm these days – about 70 degrees Fahrenheit!

My belief is that eating a traditional diet often results in better health. It’s not only what is eaten but also what’s excluded. They key is the central focus on nutrient dense, whole foods.

I agree that eating normally healthful foods, such as beef, certain dairy and eggs can be harmful in the context of an inappropriate diet. That could be a big part of the reason why some studies have identified cholesterol and saturated fat rich foods as being dangerous. I suspect that’s the case.

Thanks for all the thoughtful comments you add to these posts and for all your kindness and support. It is very much appreciated!

I hope you and your husband enjoy a good fire (and maybe a nice cup of hot cocoa or coffee) in your Winter wonderland! It sounds beautiful there!

Hello
Its good to know about all this information about choline research.I came to know about that connection between choline and anxiety.Frankly speaking that I did not know about it.Thank you for providing such knowledge to us.

Higher Dietary Choline and Betaine Intakes Are Associated with Better Body Composition in the Adult Population of Newfoundland, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Choline is an essential nutrient and betaine is an osmolyte and methyl donor. Both are important to maintain health including adequate lipid metabolism. Supplementation of dietary choline and betaine increase muscle mass and reduce body fat in animals. However, little data is available regarding the role of dietary choline and betaine on body composition in humans.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between dietary choline and betaine intakes with body composition in a large population based cross-sectional study.

DESIGN: A total of 3214 subjects from the CODING (Complex Disease in Newfoundland population: Environment and Genetics) study were assessed. Dietary choline and betaine intakes were computed from the Willett Food Frequency questionnaire. Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry following a 12-hour fast. Major confounding factors including age, sex, total calorie intake and physical activity level were controlled in all analyses.

RESULT: Significantly inverse correlations were found between dietary choline and betaine intakes, with all obesity measurements: total percent body fat (%BF), percent trunk fat (%TF), percent android fat (%AF), percent gynoid fat (%GF) and anthropometrics: weight, body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio in both women and men (r range from -0.13 to -0.47 for choline and -0.09 to -0.26 for betaine, p<0.001 for all). Dietary choline intake had stronger association than betaine. Moreover, obese subjects had the lowest dietary choline and betaine intakes, with overweight subjects in the middle, and normal weight subjects consumed the highest dietary choline and betaine (p<0.001). Vice versa, when subjects were ranked according to dietary choline and betaine intakes, subjects with the highest intake of both had the lowest %TF, %AF, %GF, %BF and highest %LM among the groups in both sexes.

CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that high dietary choline and betaine intakes are significantly associated with favorable body composition in humans.

Higher dietary intakes of choline and betaine are associated with a lower risk of primary liver cancer: a case-control study.

The dietary intake of methyl donors is favorably associated with many diseases, but the findings regarding primary liver cancer (PLC) risk are limited. This study investigated the association between the intake of choline, betaine and methionine and PLC risk in adults. This 1:1 matched case-control study enrolled 644 hospital-based PLC patients and 644 community-based controls who were matched by sex and age, in Guangzhou, China. An interviewer-administered questionnaire and a food-frequency questionnaire were used to collect general information and dietary intake information. Conditional logistic regression showed a significantly inverse association between total choline and betaine intakes and PLC risk. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for PLC for the top (vs. bottom) tertile were 0.34 (0.24-0.49; P -trend < 0.001) for total choline and 0.67 (0.48-0.93; P -trend = 0.011) for betaine. No significant association was observed between the intake of methionine and PLC risk (P > 0.05). For individual choline compounds, higher consumptions of free choline, glycerophosphocholine, phosphocholine, phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin were associated with a lower PLC risk (all P-trend

Be well!

JP

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